They prowl our bends and sofas, invisible to us, but hugely allergenic. Here’s the latest on dust mites, and what you can do to protect your family. -From Allergic Living magazine’s Spring 2014 magazine.

They’re tiny enough that you can’t even see them with the naked eye – but as millions of people around the world can attest, dust mites pack a big wallop when it comes to allergies and asthma. In fact, it’s estimated that 84 percent of U.S. homes contain dust mite allergen, and it’s one of the most common and potent allergy and asthma triggers.

So what exactly are these little freeloaders? Why do they love us so much? How come they make us so miserable? And most importantly, which ways of getting rid of them actually work? You might be surprised.

THE MITE LIFE

Some medical websites claim that dust mites are so tiny, there can be as many as 40,000 of them in a single speck of dust. But that’s far from the truth, according to Dr. Jay Portnoy, director of allergy, asthma and immunology at Children’s Mercy Hospital and professor of medicine at the University of Missouri in Kansas. Portnoy, who recently co-authored extensive new guidelines for physicians who treat dust mite allergies, says the mites are small, but they are almost the same size as many dust particles. In fact, they are just outside our range of vision so they can be seen with even the most basic microscope.

While they look like they could be distant relatives of the beetle, dust mites are not actually insects; they are arachnids with close biological ties to spiders, crabs and shrimp. But unlike their web-building and seafaring cousins, dust mites’ favorite food is skin scales, which is why they flock to mattresses, carpets and upholstered furniture where people’s dead skin tends to accumulate. (Their scientific name is Dermatophagoides, which means “skin eating.”)

Dust mites live roughly two to four months, and are hungry for moisture; in fact, they need a steady supply in order to survive. By weight, dust mites are roughly 75 percent water, and they can’t drink, so they rely entirely on absorbing moisture from the environment around them through glands at the base of their front legs. That’s why in dry climates, dust mites are almost nowhere to be found – even in dusty spaces.

“They’re basically bags of water with legs, so they don’t tolerate drying out,” says Portnoy, who worked with 22 other top experts to produce Environmental Assessment and Exposure Control: A Practice Parameter, Dust Mites for physicians. “So it can be very dusty in Denver, but they don’t have any dust mites because it’s persistently so dry that dust mites don’t survive. In Florida it’s so humid that you can’t get rid of them. They’re everywhere.”

In most climates, mite populations increase in summer, when humidity is high, and peak in the fall – which experts suspect is part of the reason asthma rates are so high at that time of year. They begin to taper off in winter when it’s colder and drier. By late winter and early spring, populations are usually at their lowest.

SO WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

They also poop a lot – roughly 20 times a day – and those fecal pellets are the major source of the powerful allergens they produce. The tiny pellets are just the right size to become easily airborne, too, so even walking across a carpet, sitting on a sofa, or moving a pillow can send them flying - and into people’s airways. Once the pellets get kicked up, they don’t settle back down for 15 to 30 minutes.

“When mites eat skin cells, they have enzymes they use to digest them. And when the little fecal pellets come out, the enzymes are in those pellets and they serve as very potent allergens,” says Portnoy. “And when you inhale it’s just the right size to get deep into the lungs and cause an asthma attack.”

But the little pests aren’t only causing problems with the air we breathe; in rare instances they have also stirred up trouble with our food. Dust mites and other types of allergen-producing mites can contaminate grain flour, and systemic reactions from hives to anaphylaxis have been reported in dust mite-allergic people after eating pancakes, grits, beignets and other grain-containing foods.

The allergens are so stable that cooking doesn’t help; as a result, Portnoy recommends that people with mite allergies keep their flour in sealed plastic containers - and that people who experience allergic reactions to grain flour, but test negative for allergy to the grain, should also be tested for allergy to mites.

There’s also an intriguing shellfish link: tropomyosin, one of the major allergenic proteins in dust mites, is also present in shrimp, lobster and crab. A few studies suggest an allergy to dust mites may make some individuals more susceptible to reacting to a crustacean dinner. But the connection is unclear, and the new guide- lines don’t recommend avoiding shellfish simply because of a dust mite allergy. Allergists point out that dust mite allergy is far more common than shellfish allergy, so one does not necessarily lead to the other,

Next: How to Get Rid of Them

]]>http://allergicliving.com/2015/03/19/the-mighty-dust-mite/feed/0Clorox Comes Clean About Fragrance Ingredientshttp://allergicliving.com/2014/11/20/clorox-comes-clean-about-fragrance-ingredients/
http://allergicliving.com/2014/11/20/clorox-comes-clean-about-fragrance-ingredients/#commentsThu, 20 Nov 2014 14:00:20 +0000http://allergicliving.com/?p=30653Clorox may best known as one of the world’s largest manufacturers of cleaning products – but now the company itself is coming clean about its fragrances.

In a groundbreaking move, the 100-year-old multinational – whose brands include Pine-Sol, Tilex, S.O.S., Burt’s Bees and more – will begin listing the ingredients of the scents found in its products on its website and in a free mobile app.

“Clorox is expanding its voluntary product ingredient disclosures to list fragrance components of its U.S. and Canadian cleaning, disinfecting and laundry products identified as potential allergens by the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, an advisory board to the European Union,” said the company in a statement.

Fragrances can trigger asthma, headaches, dermatitis and other reactions in individuals who are sensitive; but the scent industry has resisted revealing its product ingredients, arguing they are trade secrets. European regulators have begun requiring manufacturers to disclose their fragrance components, but to date North American lawmakers have not.

Rick Smith, co-author of Toxin Toxout: Getting Harmful Chemicals Out of Our Bodies and Our World, says it’s a huge step forward because chemicals such as phthalates, which have been linked to asthma, can make up a whopping 20 percent of some products, but are not normally listed.

He hopes to see a ripple effect of accountability.“If Clorox can do this, clearly it’s not the end of the world. So how do you hold out against this if you are one of Clorox’s competitors?” says Smith. “And if you’re the regulator, it’s embarrassing to have some of the biggest companies going further than you require. So it also puts significant pressure on governments to get a move on.”

Ants may be most notorious for raiding picnics, but when it comes to the remarkably industrious insects, people with allergies have more than their sandwiches and salads to worry about. Some ants carry a fiery sting; others can take a serious bite out of your home; and ant baits can be bad news for those with a peanut problem. So how to keep the persistent pests away from your abode?

For answers on ant safety, we turned to Stoy Hedges, senior technical professional and entomologist with Terminix, as well as the AAAAI’s stinging allergy guidelines.

Fire antsScott Bauer, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org

Asian needle antsJessica Louque, Smithers Viscient, Bugwood.org

• People tend to think of ants as little more than pesky picnic raiders, but some ants come with a serious sting, among them the fire ant, the twig ant and the Asian needle ant. Most live in the Southern U.S. and coastal areas such as California and Hawaii.

• Other varieties such as carpenter ants tend to burrow in wood, and if an infestation is serious enough, can seriously damage the structure of a house.

• Most varieties of ants are “nuisance ants” – that is, they don’t sting or destroy wood, but they get into food, damage gardens, etc.

• Ants are extremely diversified, and are some of the most successful creatures on Earth next to man in terms of organization and finding resources to build their tiny cities. Some ants even have multiple cities with little highways of ants going back and forth between them.

• They are also very adaptable, and are constantly looking for better nesting sites and resources.

• Like most bees and wasps, fire ants and other types of stinging ants can sting more than once.

• Venom from stinging ants such as the fire ant can cause allergic reactions, and in some cases, even life-threatening anaphylaxis.

• There are 70 different species of ants that get into structures around the United States. Roughly 40 of them are somewhat important pests; 10 to 15 can be significant pests, depending on where you live.

• There are 25 varieties of carpenter ants in the U.S. alone; but only four or five types are considered responsible for structural damage to homes and other structures.

• Many ant baits are very effective, even for fire ants, because they take the poison back to the queen and kill the colony; but some colonies have many queens, so this process can take days or even weeks.

See also: Bees/Wasps | Ants
In summer, people are itching to get outside; but it doesn’t take long before they find themselves coming back in with a different kind of itch: mosquito bites. But both the annoying bites and the products we use to prevent them can spell trouble for people with allergies or sensitivity to chemicals. So who’s most susceptible to the blood-loving bugs, what attracts them and how can you keep them at bay?

For answers on mosquito safety, we turned to Stoy Hedges, senior technical professional and entomologist with Terminix, as well as mosquito allergy studies.

Joseph Berger, Bugwood.org

Susan Ellis, Bugwood.org

• Mosquitos breed in aquatic areas, so they are most likely to be found near ponds, drainage ditches, wooded areas, and other spots where water can pool.

• Anything that can hold water for five to seven days can breed mosquitos.

• Not all mosquitos bite at night; some species bite during the day.

• Mosquitos are attracted to body heat, and to the CO2 we emit when we breathe.

• They are also attracted by several chemicals, or kairomones, that we emit, so some people really are more attractive to mosquitos than others.

• It’s the female mosquito that does the biting.

• While anaphylaxis (the serious form of allergic reaction) from mosquito bites is rare, it has been reported. Venom immunotherapy for mosquito does exist.

• Mosquito larvae have a hard time surviving on moving water; they prefer spots where water is standing; and if that water gets dumped out before they hatch, they will die.

• Despite their size and their flying style, mosquitos can travel quite a distance, so even if you keep your yard free of standing water, they may fly in from your neighbors’ yards.

• It is not true that if you drink more alcohol you will get bitten more often.

• It’s also a myth that men get bitten more often than women, or vice versa.

• Mosquitos also feed on the blood of lizards, turtles, snakes, alligators, birds and many other creatures.

• In rare cases, mosquitos can transfer the West Nile virus from a bird to a human.

• Researchers have had great success with attractive toxic sugar baits, or ATSBs, which use a mixture of sugar, which attracts the mosquitos, and garlic oil (or thyme or rosemary oil), which kills them. Contact your local pest control company for more information.

For most people, bee and wasp stings are a pain – literally – but for people with venom allergies, getting stung can have serious, and even life-threatening, consequences. But from wearing the right colors to clearing out clutter, there are simple avoidance steps you can take to prevent the flying insects from setting up shop around your home, and to deal with the unwanted intruders if they have barged in.

For answers on bee and wasp safety, we turned to Stoy Hedges, senior technical professional and entomologist with Terminix, as well as the AAAAI’s stinging allergy guidelines.

Bumblebee

Yellow jacket

Honey bee

• There are dozens of varieties of stinging insects, from honeybees to yellow jackets to fire ants.

• The biggest nuisances for homeowners are paper wasps and yellow jackets because they set up shop in voids in the walls of houses or other protected cavities. Hornets tend to build nests on walls or in trees or shrubs.

• Bees have a gentler reputation but still pack a powerful punch – and yes, bumblebees do sting.

• Backyards are the perfect place for bees, wasps and other stinging insects because they can usually find water, food, shelter and flowers which attract them.

• Some stinging insects set up shop for the year; others remain year after year.

• Once you are exposed to the venom of a particular stinging insect, you can become sensitized to it, and some venoms can cause serious allergic reactions.

• Many bees and wasps don’t create holes themselves; they just use cavities that they find.

• Social wasps such as yellow jackets, hornets and honeybees will make nests that house hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of workers – and some, such as the Africanized honeybee, can be triggered to sting en masse by loud vibrating noises such as leaf blowers and lawn mowers.

• It’s a myth that all bees can only sting once then die. This only applies to honeybees.

• Honeybees can set up for years at a time, and will sometimes split colonies, which can lead to swarms.

• Bumblebees and honeybees have different venom, and so each requires a specific extract for treatment.

• Yellow jackets, hornets, and wasps feed on human foods, and they’re especially attracted to sweet food. That’s why they tend to hang out near garbage cans, leftover food, or at outdoor events where food and soft drinks are served.

• Most stings only cause localized pain and swelling, but in a person who has a specific insect allergy, they can cause systemic reactions. Anaphylactic sting reactions account for approximately 40 deaths per year in the United States. (Read more on reactions here.)

• Potentially life-threatening insect stings occur in 0.4 to 0.8 percent of children and 3 percent of adults.

• Sometimes to access nests in walls, pest control pros will need to drill small holes, then spray pest killer; when it’s honeybees, they sometimes have to open entire walls to remove the honeycomb and dead bees. In extreme cases, a beekeeper may be called in to remove the honey and the hives.

Next page: Dos and Don’ts

]]>http://allergicliving.com/2014/07/16/stinging-insect-allergies-bees-and-wasps/feed/0Back Decks: The Safe Way to Work with Woods, Stainshttp://allergicliving.com/2014/06/09/backyard-oasis-how-to-construct-an-asthma-and-eco-friendly-deck/
http://allergicliving.com/2014/06/09/backyard-oasis-how-to-construct-an-asthma-and-eco-friendly-deck/#commentsMon, 09 Jun 2014 16:35:30 +0000http://allergicliving.com/?p=26725Thinkstock

Hankering for a handsome back deck? Here’s the low-down on the healthy way to work with woods.

With the long, lazy days of summer finally here, there’s nothing like chilling out in the backyard or enjoying a barbecue on a sunny deck. You want your outdoor spaces to be beautiful, welcoming, serene – but especially for people with asthma, allergies and chemical sensitivities, many of the materials used to make everything from dramatic decks to neighborly fences can put a serious damper on summer fun.

So how can you stop those reactive storm clouds before they roll in?

Blowin’ in the Wind

Most of us understand the need for healthy indoor air quality, especially for people with allergies and asthma. But if you have off-gassing materials outside the home, those fumes will just drift away, right?
Not so fast, says California green architect Eric Corey Freed. According to the organicARCHITECT founder and bestselling author, many of the chemicals we find indoors, including formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), can be found in the engineered woods, stains and other materials we use outside – and the problem is blowing in the wind.

“Usually we don’t build decks 40 feet away in the backyard; normally they’re attached right to the back wall. It is better that it’s outside and it will off-gas faster in the sunshine, and the wind will carry a lot of it away. But still, it’s right there,” says Freed.

“And usually there are open windows and open doors, so it’s very easy to bring it in.”

Freed says there are a couple of key culprits. One is the older type of chemically treated wood used to make decks, fences and garden borders, which is so laden with toxins that it requires gloves to handle safely. Another is the formaldehyde that can be found in plywood and engineered woods. The VOCs in exterior paints, stains and sealants can also be a major issue.

“I’ve discovered that a lot of clients are very chemically sensitive to these things and they may not realize the source of it, so they touch it and it’s absorbed through their skin,” says Freed.

“Or it off-gasses and they don’t understand why their eyes are watering or their throats are closing up when they’re standing on their decks.”

The Right Stuff

When building decks, fences, sheds, playgrounds and garden beds, it’s important to protect wood from rot and infestation - but it turns out that some garden products have a few dirty secrets of their own.

Widely used to pressure-treat wood since the 1970′s, chromated copper arsenate, or CCA, is a toxic mix of chromium, copper and arsenic that is now banned for residential use in most jurisdictions. Of the newer and far safer chemically treated woods on the market, Freed recommends Alkaline Copper Quaternary, or ACQ wood, which also contains the chromium and copper – minus the arsenic.

Even better, he says, is composite lumber, which is made from a mix of sawdust and recycled plastic. Not only are the materials light on the planet because they are readily available – the plastic comes from recycled bags and milk jugs – but the plastic acts as the binding agent, so no formaldehyde or other off-gassing glues are required.

“What you have is lumber that is splinter-free, maintenance-free, you don’t need to reseal it every five years, and you could even recycle it when you’re done,” says Freed. The only downside is that the boards get hotter than wood, so they’ll be toastier on the feet if they’re sitting in the sun. “But it doesn’t off-gas, and you don’t absorb anything through your skin when you touch it, which is what I like about it.”

Also keep in mind that some woods, including western red cedar, redwood and Brazilian walnut known as Ipe (pronounced ee-pay), are naturally durable and resistant to moisture. So they will require less treatment with chemicals, and are great for the outdoors.

Update: In early May 2014, Miley Cyrus had recovered from her allergic reaction to antibiotics and was resuming her tour in Europe. The following article was published April 17, 2014.

She is one of the world’s biggest celebrities — but it turns out that even Miley Cyrus isn’t immune to the effects of serious allergies.

This week the pop megastar was hospitalized for a serious allergic reaction after taking cephalexin, an antibiotic that she had reportedly never taken before.

According to a statement from her publicist, the antibiotic was prescribed to treat a sinus infection, and the reaction was so severe she may have to be hospitalized for as long as four weeks.

“Miley was suffering from a sinus infection during her tour in N.C. a week ago,” the rep said. “She was prescribed the antibiotic cephalexin, which she has now suffered an extreme allergic reaction to. This type of extreme reaction can last from 5 to 27 days in these types of cases.”

Several U.S. tour dates have been canceled, and there is no clear word on when the Bangerz tour will resume.

“She will remain hospitalized and is under a doctor’s care until we see some improvement and is asking for your compassion and privacy at this time. Miley is devastated about missing shows and possibly disappointing her fans.”

Online, Cyrus posted an Instagram photo of herself in the hospital bed, and has written regular updates on her Twitter feed, including this one: “can’t quit crying i wanna go back on tour. im meant to be onstage performing for y’all…. not laying in a hospital bed.”

Well wishes from fans including “Wishing you a speedy recovery” and “u have an army hoping u get well!!!” have been pouring in since the news of Cyrus’ hospitalization broke.

Reactions to antibiotics are rare, but they can be severe. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, symptoms can include eczema, hives, asthma, and in the most serious cases, anaphylaxis. Symptoms may occur quickly – even within minutes – or several days after taking the drug.

According to the AAFA, half of all allergic reactions to drugs occur within the first week of taking a medication, and symptoms usually disappear three to five days after stopping the drug.

The foundation recommends that, if you think you are having symptoms from a drug allergy, stop taking the medication and speak with a healthcare professional. If you susptect anaphylaxis, get medical help immediately.

]]>http://allergicliving.com/2014/04/17/miley-cyrus-hospitalized-after-serious-allergic-reaction/feed/0Mold: What Are Its Effects on Health?http://allergicliving.com/2014/01/22/mold-what-are-its-effects-on-health/
http://allergicliving.com/2014/01/22/mold-what-are-its-effects-on-health/#commentsWed, 22 Jan 2014 15:05:52 +0000http://allergicliving.com/?p=23542Molds are fungi that exist almost everywhere in the outdoors – and inside, they’re a common component of household dust. But mold can become a nightmare when there’s a large amount and it’s busily forming colonies in your home.

Like any pollens, dust and other airborne allergens, mold can cause a host of reactions in people who are sensitized, from itchy, watery eyes to sinus problems to full-blown asthma.

But according to Dr. Ginger Chew, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, besides triggering allergic reactions, molds can also cause breathing problems and other irritant effects in people who are not allergic.

In rare circumstances some molds can be infectious or toxic; and as they are growing, these spores can produce microbial volatile organic compounds, or mVOCs, which can trigger the same kinds of reactions as VOCs that off-gas from paints and other household chemicals.

Those tiny VOCs can hitch rides around your home – and even slip right out of wall cavities and into your home. “VOCs can permeate through porous surfaces very easily because they are volatile,” Chew explains. “And a lot of the things we think are non-porous really aren’t – like drywall.”

So how much exposure to these homewreckers is OK?

There are guidelines and international standards, but Chew says levels that are deemed “safe” can still pose problems for those with mold allergies or sensitivities – and an individual’s condition can get worse with prolonged exposure.

“People who are allergic or have asthma mount a quicker and more intense immune response and become sensitive to even smaller concentrations.

“So it’s a moving target,” says Chew, who explains that the irritant-type reactions (such as pneumonitis or lung tissue inflammation) are usually associated with people who get big hits of mold on the job, and on a regular basis.

But if a family keeps having to re-caulk a moldy bathtub or is ignoring a mold problem altogether, “it can also be happening in a home.”